The Very Long Kept Secret
by wonton-chan
Summary: "Helen, John, I would like you to meet my daughter."   rated T just in case
1. Rewrite

**Dear readers to this story. Sorry I haven't updated. Im planning to rewrite this story so…just a heads up. Yeah…sorry about the long wait…. **


	2. Nikola

Nikola Tesla was a lot of things. A genius, wine addict, a human magnet, and an ex-vampire. But one thing he never thought he'd be was a father…that is, until he got that letter.

**Flashback**

It started out as one of those annoying days where Nikola felt his genius brain slipping in and out again, unable to focus on reviving the greatest race in existence, _sanguine vampiris. _Nikola sat at his desk for hours trying at least come up with **one** idea that wasn't completely impossible or ridiculous. Nikola had started to give up when a knock came at the door.

"_Probably Room Service…" _Nikola thought.

Nikola got up and was expecting someone with a bottle of wine in his or her hand. Instead, it was a small boy, with an envelope clutched in his right hand, staring intently at Nikola. The boy looked worse for wear, with shaggy light brown hair, a green coat to protect him from the snow, jeans and black worn out tennis shoes for the same purpose as the coat, and dark brown eyes that were wide open as he looked up at the ex vampire. The boy looked vaguely familiar to Nikola, though he wasn't sure why.

"Yes, can I help you?" Nikola asked.

The boy beckoned Nikola to come closer to him, as though there was a huge secret he didn't want anyone else to know but him. Nikola sighed and got down to his knees to be at eye level with the young one.

The boy went and whispered in Nikola's ear "You're Nikola Tesla, right?"

Nikola was slightly shocked. He wanted to deny the boy but it didn't seem like he would do much harm, so Nikola looked at him and slowly nodded. The boy didn't need any other answer than that so he placed the envelope he was holding into Nikola's hand and said "5120 Elm Street", and then he ran off before Nikola could question him.

Nikola stared at the envelope that was in his hands, intrigued. There were only a few people in the world that actually knew he was still alive. One of those people was Helen, and the other one was… No, it couldn't be. He hasn't spoken to her in years! Now filled with anxiety, Nikola tore open the envelope and yanked out the letter inside. The paper itself seemed about one to two years old, like it had been sitting in a desk drawer, forgotten until the owner found it again. The ex-vampire opened the old yet still durable letter:

_Dear Nikola, _

_Or should I call you Jonathon? Do you still use that alias? Hahaha, it's seems like yesterday when you tried to get me into the habit of using that name in public. It never actually caught on though, no matter how hard you tried to get used to that alias. We were good friends back then weren't we Nikola? Well anyway, I should probably get to the point. I know how you hate it when people stall. If you're reading this, then I must be dead or at least on my death bed. Because of this, you know I'm going to ask you to do me a favor, my last request. You are aware I have a daughter, yes? You've seen her when you visited the house before and you've always said she'd grow up to be something special. Well Mr. Tesla, I have decided to leave her in your care. Please, I know you don't like having kids weighing you down or distracting you but I feel as though you will take care of Kari. Please, she's the most precious thing to me. _

_Thank You and Good Bye, _

_Gwen _

**End Flashback**

Nikola thought back on how he read that letter over a thousand times, feeling his emotions swirl throughout his body, first content-ness, then sadness, then worry and panic, and then back to sadness again. It wasn't long before Nikola took Kari under his wing, though he was having a hard time parenting. After all, he was Nikola Tesla, a genius, a living legend, not a parent. But after a while it dawned on Nikola that he's seen Kari over a million times before so it wasn't like she would cause him any trouble.

"Nikola! I found the door!" A voice cried out, snapping Nikola out of his thoughts.

Nikola smiled, looking at his now fourteen year old daughter. With raven black hair, dark brown years, and mildly dark peach skin, she waved over to him, indicating that the entry way was where she stood. While waiting for her now magnetic father, Kari couldn't help but admire the architecture of the cave. It was another cave to where another group of _sanguine vampiris_ hid away from the human race, advancing their knowledge in secrecy. Thousands of sculptures surrounded the ways of the cave while the pillars had secret compartments, full of diamonds. However, these diamonds ejected poison when touched by human skin so the two tried their best to keep away from those.

Nikola made his way to the great big door in which his daughter was now leaning on. Gazing at the inscription, which Kari couldn't understand, Nikola grinned widely. This was it, this was where the last, or at least that he knows of, vile of source blood was being kept. Kari pushed the gigantic door, obviously failing to push it open.

"It won't budge." She said, giving up the "pushing her way through" tactic.

"That's because you need a key." Nikola said.

"Which is…where exactly?"

Nikola bit his thumb until blood started dripping from it. Then, pressing his thumb against the door, the inscriptions began to glow, and the door slowly opened.

"Stay here," Nikola warned Kari, "And don't been seen by anyone. Hide if you have to."

"But there's no one here but us."

"I don't want to take that chance."

And on that note, Nikola cautiously walked to the vile sitting on the pedestal, while Kari turned invisible, and hid behind a fairly good sized rock. Nikola, taking slow steps, reached the pedestal, and, after determining it was safe to take the vile, cupped it in his hands. All was well until John Druitt popped out of nowhere and grabbed Nikola's arm.

"Hello Nikola." John said, before they both disappeared, leaving Kari in shock, still invisible and alone in the cave.

Back with Nikola, he found that John had teleported him to the Sanctuary, home of Helen Magnus and many abnormals, Helen's office to be exact. She seemed to be busy on the phone, apparently the United Kingdom's Sanctuary under an abnormal crisis. As John teleported back to his room, waiting until he was needed again, Nikola immediately went to his. It wasn't because he wanted to avoid Helen's wrath, ok maybe that was partly it, but he needed to make a very important phone call, one he really did not need Helen to hear.

"Please be home, please be home…" Nikola hoped as he called Kari's cell phone number. If Kari was still in the cave, the connection wouldn't go through. A once tensed Nikola relaxed when he realized the phone was ringing.

"Hello?" Kari answered.

"Kari! Oh thank God." Nikola said, trying to keep his voice down.

"Nikola? Are you ok?" Kari asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. I'm at the Sanctuary."

"Oh…" Kari said in a saddened voice.

Nikola felt a pang in his heart; he knew that Kari knew that his staying at the Sanctuary meant that she had to be staying home alone…again. She hardly spent time with him as it was, with his experiments and all, and then the Sanctuary called him more often than she would have liked. Sometimes the thought of Kari no longer being a secret crossed his mind but went away almost immediately as it came. There were SO many reasons why Helen wouldn't believe him and SO many reasons that Kari could be put into immediate danger.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to try to cope with me gone for a few days ok? Maybe you can stay at Sid's place till I come back again." Nikola suggested.

Kari sighed, knowing her "father" felt guilty, even though it wasn't _entirely_ his fault.

"Sid and his family are on vacation right now dad."

Dad, that word still bothered her a bit when it rolled off her tongue. Kari still tries to get used to calling Nikola that but she felt that it would be replacing her real father, the one that had died. But what she liked about Nikola was that he never forced her to call him dad, he always tried to understand her situation. Even though he acted like a pain in the neck to everyone else, Kari witnesses aside to him that no one, not even Helen has seen, a fatherly side.

"It's ok Nikola; I can stay home on my own for now. But you'd better call me whenever you can, let me know the 411." Kari said, holding back the sadness in her voice.

Nikola was about to say something back but saw, through the window, that Helen was coming towards his room. "I have to go, stay safe." Nikola said quickly before hanging up and concealing the phone in his pocket. Then his door busted open and Helen, wearing the most infuriated look, walked through the door.

"Alright Nikola, out with it." Helen said angrily.

"You know Helen, most people start with a friendly hello before starting a conversation." Nikola said.

"I don't have time for games Nikola, tell me what you were planning!"

"Helen, you should really stop yelling, it's not good for you."

"NIKOLA!" Helen said, finally having fed up with this charade

"Alright, alright there's no need to shout." Nikola said, getting up from his bed, which he was sitting on, and making his way toward the door, but Helen stopped him.

"Tell…me…NOW!" Helen said.

"Helen, my dear, I have no idea what you're talking about. And frankly, I think it's quite rude to send Johnny boy after me like that. If you wanted my company, all you had to do was ask." Nikola smirked.

"Don't play games with me Nikola! I know you got your hands in that vile of source blood. What, were you going to re-vamp yourself again? Or, maybe you are going to raise an army of vampires, is that it?" Helen said as if she already knew he was going to say yes.

But the truth of the matter was…he wasn't. No, the great Nikola Tesla was not going to use the source blood to re-vamp himself nor raise an army of vampires. He wasn't going to use it for his own purposes, not this time. For he had a more important person he wanted to use the source blood for…Kari. Her history went way back to why Nikola wanted to use the source blood for her, but he didn't want to think about that right now. Right now, he wanted to get out of the Sanctuary so he could actually bring Kari food. And knowing Helen Magnus, she would want the honest answer, and honest answers meant sooner release. Boy this wasn't going to end well.

"Actually Helen, no I didn't want to use the Source Blood for any of those things." Nikola said honestly.

"Oh really Nikola. You expect me to believe that?" Helen said skeptically.

Ordinarily Nikola wouldn't be surprised by this comment let alone hurt. But for so reason, this one pinched a nerve. "HAS IT EVER OCCURRED TO YOU THAT MAYBE I CAN ACTUALLY DO THINGS THAT AREN'T FOR MY BENEFIT?" Nikola yelled.

Nikola stormed out of the Sanctuary as fast as he could. Catching a taxi quickly, Nikola headed to apartment that he and Kari temporarily live in until they travel again. Grabbing the keys out of his pocket, he opened the door, slammed it shut, and headed to the fridge for a bottle of wine, he was going to need it. Just then, John and Helen appeared in his TV room/kitchen. Of course Helen knew where he was going. Ever since Helen had gotten out of the underground city, with her team of course, Nikola had been staying in an apartment a few blocks away.

"Wow, that didn't take long." Nikola said grabbing the wine bottle and placed it on the table.

"Alright out with it Nikola! What were you going to do with the source blood?" Helen asked angrily.

Nikola did not answer. He merely looked at the left side of the room, which had a the kitchen and a hallway that connected the kitchen to the three apartment rooms Nikola now owned.

"ANSWER ME!"

A room door suddenly opened and a girl about 14 years old ran to Nikola's side, sleepily.

"Nikola, I heard yelling. Is something wrong?" The girl asked concerned.

Nikola sighed. He knew he couldn't keep this a secret forever.

"Helen, John, I would like you to meet my daughter."


	3. Are we moving?

Kari looked upon the two strangers in front of her with both fear and curiosity. The two strangers looked at her with incredulous believe, as if they had never seen a teenaged girl before in their life. Kari looked up at Nikola a bit worriedly, his focus directed not at her for the first time whenever they had "company" over. The brunette woman was the first one to speak.

"Really Nikola, you expect us to believe _you_ have a daughter." Helen said skeptically.

"Yes dear boy. That doesn't seem like your style." John said smirking.

"Well excuse me Mr. and Mrs. Skeptic." Nikola replied.

Kari couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at them. Hello? She was right here! What more proof could they need! Nikola turned to Kari, who was waiting for introductions or at least an explanation. To her disappointment, she received the exact opposite of what she expected.

"Kari, why don't you head to your room? I'll be with you in a minute." Nikola said gently. Sometimes Kari just doesn't understand her foster father. One minute he treats Kari like she can manage things on her own and then the next he forgets that she's fourteen and treats her likes she's five. Either way she wasn't going down without a fight.

"But Nik-

"No arguing, go. Now." Nikola said a bit more sternly.

Well that was a good enough fight for her. Sighing, Kari went inside her room, leaving Nikola and the strangers to talk. After shutting the door behind her, Kari sat on her bed and waited…and waited…and waited. Ah forget this! Kari scrambled to her feet and pushed her ear against the door.

"Alright Nikola, out with it. Who is she and what is she really doing here?" Helen asked, still furious with him.

"Helen, I know it's hard to believe but she really is my daughter." Nikola stated back in reply.

"Oh really? Then perhaps you wouldn't mind doing a DNA test then?"

"Hm, no sorry that won't work. See, she's not my flesh and blood."

"Then she can't possibly be your daughter." John said.

"There is such thing as adoption Johnny-boy. Well all don't always have to make children the old fashion way."

Kari, who heard this remark, nearly vomited. Since when did Nikola get this sick of a head?

John chuckled, clearly amused. "You? Adopt? Really Nikola, is that the best lie you can come up with?"

Kari wanted to burst down the door and scream at the top of her lungs that it wasn't a lie. Why couldn't they see that Nikola didn't do anything wrong? Why were they even here anyway? How do they know Nikola? They couldn't be cabal because they haven't tried to kidnap her yet. That always happened with cabal…every time.

"Believe what you want, but I'm telling you the truth." Nikola said.

"Do you have any proof? Like paperwork perhaps?" Helen asked, still very skeptical of this whole thing.

Nikola was silent, unknowing what to do. It wasn't his call to tell Helen Kari's back story, and even if it was, he didn't want Druitt to know. Nikola ran over all the possibilities in his head. If he doesn't give Helen the information she wants, she'll just leave him and Kari in the Sanctuary until one of them talks, if he does tell them, the possibilities would be unknown, and if he manages to escape….well there's no possible way for escape. Nikola sighed; all the outcomes did not look good. Little did he know that Kari was scrambling through a box of papers in her room at this point, searching for her mother's letter. She knew that the letter would bring up millions of new questions from this woman, who apparently is called Helen, but Kari figured it was worth it. Finally finding the right one, Kari scrambled to her feet and nearly crashed into the door, her legs moving faster than her own mind could process. Before Helen or John could make another remark, Kari opened the door and covered the space between trio and her.

"Kari, I thought I said for you to wait in your room." Nikola said.

"You want proof? Here." Kari said, ignoring Nikola and handing the folded paper to Helen, seeing as she didn't look like the kind of person that would rip it up on sight. Helen took the paper, looked at from Kari, to Nikola, back to Kari again, and raised an eyebrow. Unfolding the paper, Helen read, reread, and _reread_ again the letter. It just wasn't possible, this didn't make any sense! And who was this Gwen character? A friend, close friend? Did she have any relations with Nikola? He obviously spent a lot of time with this woman before… Helen looked up at Kari, whose eyes were not looking at her but the letter itself. Of course she would, it's a letter from her mother, and probably the last connection she had to her. Helen folded up the letter and handed it back to Kari, who had put on a curious look. Does this mean she and her dark, scary friend would go now?

Kari didn't know what it was, but something about John made her uneasy, perhaps it was the fact that he kept on staring at her intently, a murderous look in his eyes. No, that wasn't it, it was something more. Something was making this man more violent than he should be, though Kari couldn't put her finger on it. And this woman, Helen, who was she? It's doubtful that Nikola ever told Kari about her…unless. Wait…it couldn't be, could it? Was she the one who is in charge of the Sanctuary network? Nikola never mentioned any names but Kari often asked about the Sanctuary, requesting that Nikola told her everything he knew about it, its history, how he was involved in it, how they do their job, anything. Shaking her head, Kari turned her attention back to Helen. Nikola could answer her questions later, like he always did.

"Well?" Kari asked.

"We're not finished here Nikola." Helen said but this time with an easier tone.

John and Nikola both looked at Helen incredulously. That was it? It took one letter to make her leave?

"I still have a lot of questions for the two of you, so this means both of you would have to come with me to the Sanctuary."

Helen could have been imagining things but she could have sworn she saw the teenager's eyes bright up a bit, had Nikola mentioned the Sanctuary before? It wasn't likely, yet it was possible. Helen wondered how much this girl actually knew about Nikola, his background history, even about abnormals in general! And was she really Nikola's daughter or was this letter a fake? How did Nikola keep her a secret for so long? Surely Helen would have noticed by now.

"I want you too at the Sanctuary by tomorrow morning. If you try to run or hide, we WILL find you. Understand?" Helen asked.

"Why would I hide from someone as divine and glorious as you?" Nikola said cheekily.

Helen rolled her eyes just before John teleported her away, back to the Sanctuary Nikola supposed. Nikola looked back at his daughter, who had a dazed look in her eyes.

"Nikola, are we….moving?" Kari asked.

"I presume we are, Kari, I presume we are."

**A/N: Sorry this chapter's so short. I promise to make a longer one next time. Till next time. **

**Each time you review, an elemental sprite gets a cookie! **


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